This invention relates to windshield wipers for vehicles and, more particularly, to a windshield wiper having a heating element that is positioned between two wiper blades immediately adjacent the windshield and that is interchangeable with a third wiping blade.
Windshield wipers are ineffective in clearing ice and snow from an automobile windshield, at least until the interior defroster has sufficiently heated the windshield. Several heated windshield wiper assemblies have been proposed for heating the blades of the wiper before or during use. Although such devices arguably may be effective in operation, the existing devices exhibit several disadvantages.
Some heated windshield wipers include a heating element that is significantly displaced from the blade wiping surfaces, thus requiring heat to be conveyed inefficiently through somewhat non-conductive materials to the wiping surfaces. Existing devices having heating elements positioned within the wiper further lack optimal heating efficiency in that the windshield itself is not directly heated. Another disadvantage of the known heated windshield wipers is that the heating element must remain within the wiper assembly even during seasons when ice and snow are not encountered.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a windshield wiper which directly heats both the blade wiping edges and the windshield. It is further desirable to have a windshield wiper in which a heating element is easily interchangeable with an additional blade wiping edge.